Tom put the phone down and thought about how he was not looking forward to the next day. One of the realities of being a detective chief inspector was that the time he spent doing what he thought of as the real job was often eaten into by the other rubbish that he hated – crime figures, reviews, staffing crises. He had been asked several times why he hadn’t applied for promotion, but he shuddered at the thought of even more paperwork and sometimes felt demotion was a more attractive option.

Tomorrow was supposed to be his day off, but like it or not he had to go to a meeting in the morning that was deemed more important than either his free time or dealing with his caseload.

He sighed as he logged out of his computer, but before he had chance to escape, his phone rang again.

‘Tom, it’s Philippa again. That problem I said I might be passing your way? Consider it passed. I need you to take on another murder case.’

CHAPTER 45

45

I’m sure that tonight it will be my turn for a treatment with the doctor, and I’ve been dreading the moment Thea appears in my doorway to escort me upstairs. I hate everything about it – the vulnerability of lying on the couch with him sitting next to me – so close, but not touching. I can’t believe he would touch me, but I never fully close my eyes, ready at any moment to jump up and run from the room.

My anxiety is enhanced by Hannah’s apprehension whenever she thinks it is her turn for a treatment. There is something she won’t tell me, something that’s expected of her that she is uncomfortable with.

I’ve no time to panic, though, because now Thea is here, outside my door, and I follow her up the stairs. This time we don’t stop at the ground floor; we continue up the stairs towards the first floor, the floor I’ve not been allowed access to until now. What can there be here that I’m not supposed to see?

When we reach the landing, Thea points me towards a small seating area. There is a side table with a flask and a cup on it. ‘Before you see the doctor, I need to speak to you,’ she says, her tone gentle. ‘You must understand that we have your safety at heart, and all we want is for you to feel part of our little family. You do know that, don’t you?’